Unbuilt Projects - Leverett house

For whatever reason, sometimes a project or a particular design is never realized. From time to time we'll revisit some of these and share them.

This particular home was designed for a local entrepreneur for a hilltop in Leverett, MA. There were two distinct designs presented, both with special considerations of views and solar orientation.

Builders Zero In on New Goal of Energy-Neutral Housing - WSJ

Wisdom Way seems to be a hot topic these days. In todays Wall Street Journal there's an article by  Jim Carlton on "Energy Neutral" projects which uses the Solar Village as an example. The article focuses on electricity use and zero-energy so it makes no mention of the super-insulation necessary to achieve this goal. The difference in home prices that Anne Perkins of RDI gives is largely due to the PV panels, but the savings realized by her contractors in the insulating of these units will reap huge savings with relatively little cost.

I also think the differences in the projects in the article, the price of a unit at Wisdom Way is about half the price of a 600 square foot addition in LA. And *ahem* "offset(ing) the cost of the panels by not having to buy a big furnace"?!?!  Even without any special insulation they would not have to buy a big furnace in LA! Tomorrows high temperature in Hermosa Beach is 67, which is where many of us here in New England set our thermostats! I know it gets nippy by the beach there, but put on a sweater folks!

Real Time Energy Data

Another piece of making our live's more efficient is real time monitoring of our homes usage of electricity . It is another emerging field that already seems crowded with  solutions, yet there are few options on the market right now.

This week in Copenhagen a call to action was issued by a number of large companies to make real time monitoring become more widespread. There is a nice piece by Martin LaMonica over on cnet about the announcement.  There is also a gallery accompanying the piece which includes links to hardware and software solutions. We are anxious to get some of our clients started with real time monitoring of their electricity usage and hope that all this data will also in turn help us make our designs more efficient.

As the article mentions, until there is real time variable pricing to accompany the monitoring, there won't be a financial incentive for users to run their appliances at off peak time, thereby eliminating the need for new power plants and reducing peak demand which is the most polluting and expensive.

Real time monitoring will become essential in zero-net energy building and help the occupants manage their usage so as to achieve that balance.

Changes That Pay

A recent article in the Boston Globe Magazine outlines some ways to save energy and lists some resources for audits, building materials, and an upcoming rebate program for appliances. On the last page the article makes mention of RDI's Wisdom Way project which ADI designed.

EERE: Energy Savers Home Page

EERE: Energy Savers Home Page

We stumbled upon this excellent resource just now. The Federal governments clearing house website for all things regarding energy efficiency. Energy Star, grants, refunds, rebates, and even their own blog.

Results Are In

An electrical audit was performed at our office this autumn as part of our ongoing deep energy retrofit. Striving to save energy and dollars where possible, we are pleased to learn of several opportunities to further reduce our energy consumption and utility expenditures.

According to Paquette Electric’s report, by investing in occupancy sensors, new compact fluorescent bulbs, and T8 lamp ballasts we can save roughly 785 kWh annually which translates into savings of about $155 per year.

We’ll keep you posted on our decisions to implement these measures. In the meantime, through optimizing daylight, turning off peripherals at night (printers, faxes, etc.), and installing CFLs and T5 fluorescent bulbs, we have managed to drastically lower our electrical load, kilowatt hours, and electric bill!

The Ay's Have It - Clean Energy A Must

Clean Energy Connections, hosted at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, MA on Tuesday, November 10th, was well-attended and optimistic in nature, with over five hundred clean energy organizations, business owners, and job seekers listening attentively to keynote addresses and plenary sessions. More than 60 universities, colleges, businesses, and organizations exhibited at the conference, providing ample opportunities to exchange ideas and information, to learn about the ever-evolving renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, and to prospect for jobs and new employees.

According to keynote speakers, Dr. Robert Pollin and Mr. Truman Semans, approximately $120 billion in government spending will boost the U.S. “green” economy over the span of several years. Seventy percent will fund energy efficiency projects with 30% funding renewable energy technology. Additionally, Massachusetts’ total share of the funds is $2.3 billion, which will result in roughly 42,530 “green” jobs with renewable energy “poised to become” the tenth largest job cluster in the state. Though success in the green economy is predicted to skyrocket and greatly contribute to the nation’s financial recovery , it alone will not revive the U.S. economy. Moreover, it will take persistent policy overhauls to improve the flow of money from government to private organizations.

Anne Perkins of Rural Development Inc. (RDI) and Bill Austin and Jacqui McCreanor of Austin Design Inc. (ADi) manned our integrated display. As folks stopped at our table to chat, we shared with them RDI’s affordable housing enterprises and our ecological designs for single family homes, communities, and remodels. And in turn, we learned about an increasing interest, on the parts of both individuals and private organizations, in retrofitting existing buildings, adding renewable energy technology to new and existing buildings, and investing in strong local community centers dedicated to the health and robustness of its citizens and economies.

Great contacts were made and a good time was had by all. On the whole, it was a great and educational day.